2019 Australian Parliament infiltration plot

The target of the plot was reported to be Bo "Nick" Zhao, who once owned a number of car dealerships and lived in Glen Iris with a wife and daughter.[5]

Zhao's former business associates have described him as an ambitious man who got ahead of himself and wanted to make money quick.[5]

According to court records, Zhao was charged with obtaining financial advantage by deception in 2017, due to accusations he obtained loans via fraudulent means in order to buy luxury vehicles.[5] Administrators began to pursue Zhao in 2019 over the collapse of a car dealership in Brighton.[5]

By early 2019, Zhao had a fallout with his wife over debts Zhao owed to Chinese investors that were described as "shadowy".[5] Reports say Zhao owed millions to people who, over time, became increasingly angry.[8]

In March 2019, Zhao was found dead in a hotel room in the Mount Waverley area of Melbourne.[5] Authorities have not been able to establish the cause of Zhao's death, nor have they been able to establish why Zhao died.[1] The death has prompted a coroner's inquiry into the incident.[1]

Records kept by the Liberal party show Zhao as a party member in the Division of Chisholm from 2015 until his death.[5] Andrew Hastie, a Liberal MP who chairs the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security , describe Zhao as a paid-up member of the Liberal Party.[5]

Sources familiar with Zhao's activities, however, describe him as a low-profile member of the local Liberal Party branch.[9] They say Zhao attended at least one branch gathering with members of his immediate family before the 2016 Federal election, but did not otherwise agitate to become an MP himself.[9] They say Zhao stopped attending party events in 2016 amidst personal problems.[9]

A senior Liberal Party member with knowledge of membership lists also said Zhao was not known to senior party members, by any measure.[9]

Some media reports have identified the person who approached Zhao as Melbourne businessperson Brian Chen Chunsheng.[11][5]

The Age has reported that Chen is flagged as a suspected senior Chinese intelligence operative by various Western security sources,[5] and that Chen has posed for pictures in People's Liberation Army military uniforms, in addition to posing as a journalist during certain international political summits.[5]

Chen is known to have made political donations to Australia's two major political parties, and his company is known to be promoting China's Belt and Road Initiative, leading to accusations he is using the Belt and Road Initiative as a cover to conduct intelligence operations.[5]

Chen himself has denied the allegations, claiming photos of him donning Chinese military uniforms were merely him borrowing a friend's military uniform to show off, and that he was given journalist accreditation by a media outlet owner in order for him to attend international political summits.[5]

Reports have stated that there is no suggestion of Chen having any knowledge or involvement in Zhao's death.[5] Chen has also denied having ever met Zhao.[5]

ASIO's Director-General, Mike Burgess, refused to comment on the matter in depth due to "long-standing practice", but did say the agency was previously aware of the incident, and there is an active investigation underway.[1]

Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the allegations as "deeply disturbing and troubling".[4]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Geng Shuang have decried the accusations as "nothing but lies", and accused Australia of "a state of hysteria and extreme nervousness".[16]